Solid electrolytic capacitors (e.g., tantalum capacitors) have been a major contributor to the miniaturization of electronic circuits and have made possible the application of such circuits in extreme environments. Many conventional solid electrolytic capacitors are formed with J-shaped terminations that can be surface mounted onto a printed circuit board. These terminations are present on the ends of the capacitor and thus extend its overall length. Thus, when a number of these capacitors are mounted on a board in a side-by-side fashion, the spacing must be made large enough to prevent short-circuiting, which prevents dense packing of the capacitors. Capacitors have also been developed in which the terminations are located primarily on the bottom of the capacitor—also known as “facedown” terminations. When surface mounted onto the board, however, the height of these capacitors still limits miniaturization, particular for relatively larger case sizes.
As such, a need remains for a solid electrolytic capacitor that is able to achieve high density packing when mounted to a circuit board.